Characteristics of learners and parents as predictors of high school pass rates

English: Academic achievement is an important and often troublesome aspect for many learners. The importance hereof can be seen in the fact that this achievement will affect the future of learners, as their opportunities for higher education and employment will depend on the results that they obtain in their final grade 12 examination. Achieving well academically is however not always a simple, straightforward task, as there are many factors present that can help or hinder learners in performing at their full potential. Cognitive factors can influence the level of academic achievement attained. Biographical factors have also been found to contribute to scholastic performance. These factors include aspects such as the gender, age and birth position of the learner, as well as parental age and marital status. Furthermore, social and emotional considerations (internal factors) also influence the learner's level of achievement. Aspects such as the interaction between learners and their parents, as well as between peers, and the relationships formed with teachers are included in this respect. The final research sample used comprised 156 black learners and 147 parents from five secondary schools in the greater Bloemfontein area. The schools were selected on the basis of the grade 12 pass rates obtained over the past two years. The grade 12 learners in the respective schools formed the two groups based on pass rate, namely those with a high pass rate and those with a low pass rate. These groups were then compared with respect to the biographical and internal factors related to the learners and their parents. The data collected was then subjected to a logistic regression analysis, in order to determine which of the above-mentioned factors could significantly predict the group membership of a learner. A number of factors were found to significantly contribute to the prediction of pass rate. Younger learners were found to be more likely to belong to the group of learners with a high pass rate, while learners who intended to study further, as well as those whose parents were married, were more likely to belong to the group of learners with low pass rates. In addition to these biographical factors, certain internal factors were also found to be significant. A poor degree of communication between learners and their parents, as well as negative interaction between teachers and learners, was found to positively influence the academic achievement of learners. Learners, whose parents had a negative perception of the school climate, were more likely to belong to the group of learners with a low pass rate.